Special Event: March Madness! NCAA basketball tournaments 2023

March 13, 2023 3:15 PM

Are we ready to dance? Kansas is the defending men's champ, and South Carolina is the defending women's champion.

Men's tournament: https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2023-03-13/2023-march-madness-mens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates-times
First Four: March 14-15 on truTV (Games begin at 6:40 p.m.)
First round: March 16-17 on CBS, truTV, TBS and TNT (Games begin at 12:15 p.m.)
Second round: March 18-19 on CBS, truTV, TBS and TNT (Games begin at 12:10 p.m.)
Sweet 16: March 23-24 on CBS and TBS (Games begin at 6:30 p.m.)
Elite Eight: March 25-26 on CBS and TBS (First Saturday game begins at 6:09 p.m. First Sunday game starts at 2:20 p.m.)
Final Four: April 1 on CBS (First game at 6:09 p.m.)
NCAA championship game: April 3 on CBS (Game starts at 9:20 p.m.)

Men's bracket challenge group (group name is MetaFilter 2023, password is blue)

Women's tournament: https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2023-03-13/2023-march-madness-womens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates-times
The First Four games are Wednesday and Thursday, March 15-16
The first round is Friday and Saturday, March 17-18
The second round is Sunday and Monday, March 19-20
The Sweet 16 is Friday and Saturday, March 24-25
The Elite 8 is Sunday and Monday, March 26-27
The Final Four is at 7 and 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 31 on ESPN.
The national championship game is at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 2 on ABC.

Women's bracket challenge group link (group name is MetaFilter 2023, password is blue)

Brackets lock at tip-off on the first regular (non-playin) game, so get your brackets in. :)

posted by joycehealy (84 comments total)

Duke (men's) has an entirely too easy path to the Final Four and I am not happy about it.
posted by LionIndex at 5:00 PM on March 13, 2023 [2 favorites]

I'm trying to fill out my bracket, but I can't find UNC. Which region are they in?

/s
posted by Tehhund at 12:35 AM on March 14, 2023 [6 favorites]

I'll take a shot, and by take a shot I mean one of those weird underhand free throws.
posted by box at 5:08 AM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Duke (men's) has an entirely too easy path to the Final Four

Isn't it great?
posted by Tehhund at 5:53 AM on March 14, 2023

COME ON IOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
posted by epj at 7:10 AM on March 14, 2023

I’m practicing early
posted by epj at 7:11 AM on March 14, 2023

I entered without needing the password "blue," if that means anything for how you have it set up
posted by secretseasons at 8:41 AM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

I think the link includes parameters that allow you to bypass the password when you click it. If someone were just poking around on ESPN.com they couldn't get in without the password. And since we are giving away the password on this page I think it's fine if the link includes that bypass.
posted by Tehhund at 12:20 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

[brackets!]
posted by the primroses were over at 12:22 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Man, I miss when the NIT was a huge deal.





Just kidding.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:30 PM on March 14, 2023

Sorry Tehhund, Duke doesn't make the Sweet 16 this year.

Why yes, my picks are as nonsensical as in past years.

Thanks for organizing!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:55 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Ok, I'm in to defend my bottom of the rankings spot for another year.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:33 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]

Incidentally, I wish there was a way to see my history. Apparently I didn't participate in 2022, but I know that I did several times in the past but it doesn't seem like that info is available. Oh well.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:34 PM on March 14, 2023

i have no idea what i am doing
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:57 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

That's fine - people who have some idea of what they're doing end up not really having any idea either.
posted by LionIndex at 6:32 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]

Oh, what the heck.
posted by kimberussell at 6:40 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

fear the turtle
posted by terrapin at 3:56 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Oh, and in the women's bracket... GO COCKS! (My MiL worked at Univ of South Carolina for decades)
posted by terrapin at 6:42 AM on March 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Dear Furman: why are you like this?
posted by joycehealy at 11:44 AM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

AYYYYEEEEEEE. Ahem. Sorry. This is me, just keeping the vapors all of March.
posted by joycehealy at 11:56 AM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

I do love having a busted bracket in the second game, because now the pressure is off.

I gotta tell y'all, watching it back that play gave me goosebumps. The interview with J.P. Pegues, the winning shot taker, made me a fan of these kids.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:57 AM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

High-5 to fellow Furman pickers! Let's go Paladins
posted by Zonker at 12:00 PM on March 16, 2023

That motion camera in the studio is going to make me sea-sick.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:17 PM on March 16, 2023

Furman was unexpected and hurts my bracket. Oh well, I haven't paid attention to college basketball since 2002.
posted by terrapin at 12:23 PM on March 16, 2023

Well, as a U.Va. grad: at least I didn't think they were making it any further than the Sweet 16 this year.

(a national championship, and three first round exits to the bottom quarter of the bracket. I love Tony Bennett and think he's a future Hall of Fame coach, but man)
posted by thecaddy at 12:27 PM on March 16, 2023

I had the Furman game on and turned it off at 30 seconds left, my nerves just couldn't take it. But then dad texted me (we're a SoCon and ACC family) and I just wanted the end and holy crap.

I love March. :)
posted by joycehealy at 1:24 PM on March 16, 2023 [1 favorite]

Well, as a U.Va. grad: at least I didn't think they were making it any further than the Sweet 16 this year.

Also as a UVa grad, you were pretty optimistic even with that.
posted by LionIndex at 1:29 PM on March 16, 2023 [2 favorites]

I hovered over Furman when I was making my bracket for a while.
posted by thecaddy at 1:55 PM on March 16, 2023

NEED MOAR UPSETS
posted by fleacircus at 2:58 PM on March 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

NEED MOAR UPSETS

15 over a 2 good enough?
posted by LionIndex at 3:20 PM on March 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

YES THANK YOU THAT WILL DO FOR A SHORT WHILE.
posted by fleacircus at 3:25 PM on March 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

Picked Princeton!

Picked because it seems like every year Arizona is a #2 seed and often they trip.
posted by terrapin at 5:09 PM on March 16, 2023 [4 favorites]

UVa and Arizona started the day tied for most losses to double digit seeds. Virginia pulled ahead and Arizona wasn't having it.
posted by LionIndex at 5:13 PM on March 16, 2023 [3 favorites]

Somebody at Buick should lose their job over running that same commercial with the four versions of the same woman at every commercial break again this year. I had forgotten about my grudge from last year, but now I'm digging out the Book of Grudges so that it will be recorded for all time.
posted by ob1quixote at 7:01 PM on March 16, 2023

woo hoo day 2 of the best 4-day sporting event
posted by fleacircus at 9:20 AM on March 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

Good for Xavier for gutting it out — and it's good for me considering my bracket — but my heart is broken for the kids from just down the road in Kennesaw. They put a double digit lead on 'em and then went cold as ice with 10 minutes to play and wound up coming completely apart in the final minute.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:58 AM on March 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Come on Catamounts!
posted by terrapin at 12:14 PM on March 17, 2023

That Marquette/South Florida game was a FANTASTIC start to the women's tournament! Sadly, I'm at work now, so I'm going to miss at least half of my Hawkeyes--everyone cheer for me, okay?
posted by epj at 12:21 PM on March 17, 2023

I only made a women's bracket and am rooting for whoever I picked! Go team! Olé!
posted by seanmpuckett at 12:37 PM on March 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

HAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.
posted by joycehealy at 2:59 PM on March 17, 2023

Omg FDU/Purdue
posted by donnagirl at 5:52 PM on March 17, 2023 [5 favorites]

Don't jinx it!
posted by LionIndex at 5:58 PM on March 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

Perfect brackets remaining: 22.
posted by box at 6:07 PM on March 17, 2023 [3 favorites]

Unbelievable!
posted by Zonker at 6:11 PM on March 17, 2023 [1 favorite]

They have to play another game there tonight, so no cutting down the nets, I guess. But they should. Only the second time ever. They flashed a graphic that 16th seeds were 1-150 before tonight.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:11 PM on March 17, 2023

A lot of how we watch the tournament is my March Madness app popping up like "upset alert", so we just saw the end of FDU/Purdue and THAT WAS SO PRETTY.
posted by joycehealy at 6:12 PM on March 17, 2023

Keep the Super Bowl, keep the World Series, the NBA finals, the Olympics. Keep the Final Four. There's nothing anywhere in sports that compares to this weekend, and especially the two days of the first round.
posted by Zonker at 6:19 PM on March 17, 2023 [6 favorites]

Actually, that's 0 perfect brackets left, they apparently hadn't updated it yet. Damn yo.
posted by joycehealy at 6:25 PM on March 17, 2023 [4 favorites]

Holy smokes! Well maybe Purdue will have the consolation of winning the championship next year, like Virginia did.
posted by fleacircus at 6:30 PM on March 17, 2023

“Breaking down the historic upset of No. 16 FDU over No. 1 Purdue,” Jeff Borzello, et al., ESPN, 18 March 2023
posted by ob1quixote at 8:28 AM on March 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Of the top 10 ranked left in the tournament (by kenpom rank), 5 of them are in the west region. All chalk. RIP.
posted by fleacircus at 11:28 AM on March 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

did duke win?
posted by the primroses were over at 2:20 PM on March 18, 2023 [6 favorites]

I'm screwed if KU blow this.
posted by terrapin at 4:09 PM on March 18, 2023

D'oh! Oh, well.

Go Terps!
posted by terrapin at 4:44 PM on March 18, 2023

There's a lot to be said about the transfer portal era, but it makes the big dance even more unpredictable, and I'm loving it
posted by Zonker at 4:50 PM on March 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

It's usually a pretty reliable strategy to go all chalk and then pick a favorite to be a little different than everybody else. I have never seen anything like this tournament.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:36 PM on March 18, 2023 [1 favorite]

Being a sports team fan is such a strange emotional experience.
posted by fleacircus at 9:09 AM on March 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Half of the top 8 teams (1 and 2 seeds) are gone in the 1st weekend.
posted by LionIndex at 4:38 PM on March 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

The most busted bracket is the best bracket. Such a great sports weekend.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:44 AM on March 20, 2023 [3 favorites]

Indiana couldn't handle Miami regardless of gender. Much bigger upset in the women's bracket, with 9 seed Miami knocking off 1 seed Indiana.
posted by LionIndex at 7:35 PM on March 20, 2023

After the first weekend, my men's bracket is in the 99th percentile, but is basically done since Marquette lost. On the other hand, my women's bracket is in the 58th percentile, but could end up doing fairly well if Iowa makes the final. It's pure chaos, and I'm loving it!
posted by Zonker at 4:53 AM on March 21, 2023

THAT WAS A CHARGE.
posted by joycehealy at 5:40 PM on March 24, 2023

and it doesn't matter. Ah, that was pretty. :)
posted by joycehealy at 5:55 PM on March 24, 2023

I could watch upsets on the men’s side all weekend. :-)
posted by joycehealy at 6:27 PM on March 24, 2023

For those who missed it yesterday, this trick play yesterday from K-State was one of the highlights of the tournament. Doing that tied up in OT with a minute left is gutsy.
posted by fleacircus at 7:05 PM on March 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

Y’all, I don’t know what I just watched but it’s been a fun night of basketball on the men’s side.
posted by joycehealy at 8:10 PM on March 25, 2023

I try not to be that fan, but I have some foul, foul, foul things to say about the officiating in this Miami/Texas game. Go FAU!
posted by joycehealy at 4:30 PM on March 26, 2023

Also, if you didn't watch Iowa/Louisville last night, you missed out. Caitlin Clark is, if anything, underrated, but also, the whole damn team is good. And Louisville put on a show that against any other team, would have them going to the final four.
posted by joycehealy at 6:46 AM on March 27, 2023 [4 favorites]

Clark is absolutely incredible. She had 41 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds last night, accounting for 71 of her team's 97 points. It was the first 40-point triple double in the NCAA tournament by anyone, man or woman. It was also the first 30-point triple double. It's real "tell your grandkids" stuff. And joycehealy, thanks for posting that video, the sight of those assholes hanging their heads towards the end was just perfect.
posted by Zonker at 8:00 AM on March 27, 2023 [5 favorites]

Angel Reese: "And I took that personally." LOFL. Well played.
posted by joycehealy at 7:46 PM on March 31, 2023

Clark "only" had 41, 8, and 6 tonight, but coming as it did against the best defensive team of the year (and one of the best ever) it was probably an even better performance. I can't wait to see the final!
posted by Zonker at 8:56 PM on March 31, 2023

Right?! we are definitely feeling some things. On the one hand, it was hard to watch South Carolina’s dream season come to an end. On the other hand, we cannot wait to watch the two most confident women in college basketball play each other on Sunday. It’s going to be a hell of a game. :)
posted by joycehealy at 9:03 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

WE’RE GOING TO THE SHIP
posted by epj at 9:04 PM on March 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

I've never seen Clark play before, wow... She can shoot from anywhere, very fast driver, great passer. Stats-wise, 122 ORtg on 37% usage is insane, that's beyond Kemba Walker or Jimmer Fredette level of efficient team-carrying.
posted by fleacircus at 3:05 AM on April 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Good morning from the land of busted brackets. Epj, I don't know which "we" you were, but I hope your team won. Speaking of winning, congrats to Flash Gorski, who took the bracket contest on points, even if every single one of us busted.

Congratulations to the LSU Tigers players (though not necessarily Kim Mulkey) for their first NCAA basketball win in school history, men's or women's. And y'all, Angel Reese is only a sophomore! It's going to be lit for the next couple of years.

The Internet is already a twitter over how people are reacting to Clark vs. Reese for the same gesture.

Y'all, the WNBA Draft is Monday, April 10, at 7 pm ET. Let's keep the same energy for that that folks have been holding for women's NCAA ball this year. This class of woman has never known a world where they couldn't go pro at home, and it is something else.

SDSU and UConn tip at 9:20pm ET tonight. Go Aztecs!
posted by joycehealy at 6:11 AM on April 3, 2023 [2 favorites]

I am Flash Gorski (I need to figure out how to change my bracket name next year). Thanks all! What a game (even if it was not the result that I was hoping for).
posted by thecaddy at 6:45 AM on April 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

I wound up missing most of the final when one of my son's activities got rescheduled. It's always a shame when so much of the discussion the next day is about the refereeing. From what I can gather, it didn't really make a difference, as it seems that the bad calls went both ways and LSU was just the better team on the day. So congrats to them (and to you, Flash/thecaddy), and I hope we'll have a good game tonight. (Go Huskies!)
posted by Zonker at 10:11 AM on April 3, 2023

For what it’s worth, I did not think the officiating was bad at all. There was some stuff that didn’t get called, but as you said, it was on both sides, and the attitude was very much “let them ball”, which I appreciated. We have seen some bad officiating this tournament (I’m still salty about Texas), and as n=1, I had no complaints last night.
posted by joycehealy at 12:26 PM on April 3, 2023

I'm glad to hear that joycehealy -- I'm all for letting them play as long as that applies to both sides. I hope that's what we'll see tonight.
posted by Zonker at 3:01 PM on April 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Good news, everyone!

NCAA Awards Title To Duke In Final Upset Of March Madness [The Onion]

posted by Tehhund at 4:15 AM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

Where was this unstoppable UConn team hiding in January? I watched a lot of the Big East regular season, and nothing prepared me for a run through the tournament like this.

Congratulations to UConn, literaryhero, LSU, and thecaddy. And thanks again to joycehealy for setting up the groups and this thread. See you all for the Big Dances next year!
posted by Zonker at 5:58 AM on April 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

Absolutely! This is one of my favorite times of the year. Congrats to literaryhero!

Thank you all so much for playing, see you next March!
posted by joycehealy at 8:26 AM on April 4, 2023 [4 favorites]

Congrats to literaryhero!


YAY! I hate to admit this, but I don't even watch college basketball. I do, however, love watching the tourney unfold through stats and recaps.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:31 PM on April 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

that is the way of the bracket
posted by fleacircus at 9:17 PM on April 4, 2023